Why was the 18th amendment repealed?

3 Answers

It hadn’t worked on its own terms. Institutionally, it wasn’t adequately supported–there was a great deal of evasion of the law. Among those who believed in the rule of law, there was a real fear that the flouting of any law would undermine all laws. The crisis of the Great Depression also helped. And there was an organized anti-Prohibition movement that tapped into growing public dissatisfaction. Still, many opponents assumed it would never be repealed. Q: What are the lessons to learn from prohibition? A: One is that interest groups can influence laws, but they can’t actually govern. Another is that divisive social issues–precisely because they are divisive–make it very hard for one side to triumph fully over the other. Q: How does your analysis apply to current wars on drugs and tobacco? A: Drugs have been illegal for so long that there’s still a large cultural adherence to the notion that these are “illicit” substances. So there’s little public support for repeal of laws–we’re

It hadn’t worked on its own terms. Institutionally, it wasn’t adequately supported there was a great deal of evasion of the law. Among those who believed in the rule of law, there was a real fear that the flouting of any law would undermine all laws. The crisis of the Great Depression also helped. And there was an organized anti-Prohibition movement that tapped into growing public dissatisfaction. Still, many opponents assumed it would never be repealed. Q: What are the lessons to learn from prohibition? A: One is that interest groups can influence laws, but they can’t actually govern. Another is that divisive social issues – precisely because they are divisive – make it very hard for one side to triumph fully over the other. Q: How does your analysis apply to current wars on drugs and tobacco? A: Drugs have been illegal for so long that there’s still a large cultural adherence to the notion that these are “illicit” substances. So there’s little public support for repeal of laws – we’r